For Immediate Release
Brussels, 23 October 2026
The Forum of Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) condemns the European Parliament’s adoption of a resolution on countering so-called “Islamist entryism”, which raises serious concerns about the future of European civil society and the democratic participation of minority youth and students across Europe. FEMYSO warns of the consequences this resolution risks creating for the right of minority youth and students across Europe to organise, be represented and participate in democratic life on equal terms.
The resolution specifically names FEMYSO, alongside the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) and the Collective Against Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE), purporting to link these organisations to the Muslim Brotherhood and questioning their engagement with European institutions. The resolution treats rights advocacy by minority groups as an indicator of radicalisation. Paragraph 6 calls for developing “a European methodology to identify signs of Islamist entryism” which include “the production of activist reports” and the “instrumentalisation of anti-discrimination frameworks” as key indicators of radicalisation.
FEMYSO categorically rejects the allegations directed against it. We stand by our work and our commitment to empower youth, promote equality and defend fundamental rights. We welcome legitimate scrutiny, transparency and accountability, and these must be grounded in evidence and accompanied by fair procedures. Unfounded allegations discredit organisations, undermine their legitimacy and restrict their participation in democratic life. When organisations representing minority youth are discredited for engaging in public life and documenting discrimination, their work risks being reframed as dangerous “activism”, radicalisation and “instrumentalisation” of anti-discrimination frameworks. This creates a vicious cycle in which the very organisations working to challenge discrimination are excluded from the institutions meant to address it, further marginalising the communities they represent.
FEMYSO has experienced this directly. Our youth delegates have faced sustained harassment and targeting by far-right supporters inside and outside European institutions. This included being targeted during a far-right protest with the participation of two sitting Members of the European Parliament at the last European Youth Event at the European Parliament in 2025. That experience left our young delegates and volunteers deeply shaken, feeling under attack at the very heart of European democracy.
We should not have to reiterate that Muslim youth and students are an integral part of Europe. They study, work, volunteer and contribute to their communities, and they have every right to participate in the democratic life of the societies they call home. They should not have to justify their presence in public debate, question whether their organisations will be considered legitimate, or face barriers when they seek to exercise the same democratic rights and duties as other citizens. Their participation is welcomed in principle but treated with suspicion in practice.
FEMYSO calls on the European Parliament and relevant European institutions to address the concerns we have raised, clarify the evidential basis for the allegations concerning the organisations named, and ensure that decisions affecting civil society funding, institutional access and participation are transparent, proportionate and consistent with fundamental rights. We call on decision-makers to safeguard civic space, uphold freedom of association and ensure that minority youth and student organisations can engage with democratic institutions without discrimination or exclusion. These are not demands for special treatment; they are demands for the equal application of the principles that underpin European democracy.
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Notes
- FEMYSO (est. 1996) is a network organisation of 32 Muslim youth and student organisations across 22 European countries, working to empower European Muslim youth and contribute to a more inclusive, cohesive, and just Europe.
- For more information or media requests, please contact: media@femyso.org